Improved method of flooding and entering powder-magazines



UNITED STATES CHARLES lV. OOPELAND, OF BROOKLYN, YEV YORK.

IMPROVED METHOD Ol:` FLOODING AND ENTERING POWDER-MAGAZINES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 6,8112, dated November6,1849.

To aZZwi/om, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES lV. COPE- LAND, of Brooklyn, in the countyof Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Construction of Powderdllagazines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ofthis specification, which drawings are hereinafter more fully described.

The nature of my invention consists in improvements in gunpowdermagazines for ships, whereby they are rendered more safe from explosionsby tho action of fire, either in the time ot' battle or from accidentalconlagration, said magazines having also improvements for entering andleaving the same, and for conveying powder into and from it without riskfrom external re. To accomplish this I construct the magazine so as tohave attached to it certain pipes, which lead to and terminate in thesides and bottom of the ship, through which openings are made wherebywater may flow into said pipes. In these pipes are also proper valves orcocks by which the water entering the pipes may be allowed to iiow intothe magazine and flood or otherwise exclude the saine, as the casemaybe; and one part of my invention consist-s in apparatus attached tosaid cocks and pipes which is of such a nature that heat will cause anaction to take place or produce such an eiiect that the cocks or valveswill be opened, and thus cause the iiooding oi' the magazine with waterlong before said magazine or apparatus shall come in contact with iire,thus protect-ing the ship from explosions from unsuspected ire.

Secondly, my improved magazines have a certain contrivance for enteringand leaving the magazine and removing the powder therefrom, ifnecessary, while the ship itself was on fire.

In Figure l is a perspective view of the section of a ship where themagazine is usually placed. Arepresents the magazine; B, the co 'mondoor of entrance. C D are the iioodjing-pipes. These pipes, it will beseen, are

placed in dierent parts of the magazine C, entering near the top andleaving at the side of the vessel, while ,D is situated at the-bot tom,and also passes out at the bottom of the vessel. The object of this isto produce circulation of water in the magazine by a wellknown law,whereby heat acting on fluids 1n certain places causes a change in itsspecific gravity, so that the equilibrium of the mass being disturbedcauses the rareed parts to seek the proper level. Thus the magazine Abeing full of water, heat applied externally would soonc hange thegravity of the iuid contained within it, so that a current would beproduced which would set outward in C and inward in D. Thus a completecirculation is produced in the m agazine A,by which any materialincrease of temperature of the water is prevented. E F are stop-cocks tocutoff or admit the water for flooding. These are connected together bya bar G, so that they shall beopened and closed simultaneously by aproper movement of said bar. ll is a heavy weight on the top of the rodG, which causes the opening of the cocks by carrying down G wheneverreleased from certain parts,which otherwise keep the bar elevated andthe cock i closed. This latter apparatus is seen at I K L. This consistsof a rod and spiral spring.

The spring is attached to the magazine, and Y,

the end of the rod to the connecting-bar G. The spring is ot' sufficientpower to overcome the power of the weight H, and thus keeps the bar upand the cock consequently' closed. A portion of this rod, as at K, Imake of some substance which will yield-that is, melt, give way, orexpand by the action of a moderate degree of heat without coming indirect contact with tire, and for this purpose I prefer the articleknown as gutta percha, as that substance is known to possess the qualityof.

becoming easily softened and plastic under comparatively lowtemperatures. operation of this part ot' myinventionis thus: The hold ofa vessel being on fire, the moment the temperature of the airsurrounding the magazine becomes sufficiently V'high to soften thegutta-percha bar K, so that it would no longer have the strength toovercome the tension caused by the weight Hand the springs L, then thecocks E F will beimmediately opened by the descent of the weight H andbar G, as clearly seen inthe drawings, so that the flooding of themagazine is at once eected. A cock of usual construction,

Now, the

in means of entering and leaving the magazine Without exposing -theinterior of the magazine to the external action of lire. At-

M, Fig. 1, is a perspective view showing the position in the magazine.Fig. 2 is asection.l Figs. 3 and 4 are plans. This apparatus j consistsof two.cylinders, one fitting closely within the other, but so that theinner one may revolve. For this purpose it plays upon a center or pivote projecting through the bottom of the outer cylinder. In the side ofeach cylinder a door is cut, as at a b. The inner cylinder terminates ina cap M, with a ring or handle, and the outer cylinder has a closed orsolid bottom. In the top of the magazine a hole is cut to receive thecylinders as combined together. The plate of the magazine around thehole has acountersnnk space to receive packing, and acap covers it tokeep it in place, as seen at cd, Fig. 2, of which c represents thepacking and d the cap. To operate this, thecylinders are raised by thering in M, and then by turning the cap M the inner cylinder is made torevolve until the opening or door b in its side is made to come oppositeto the opening or door of the outer cylinder at a, and as seen at a b,Fig. 4. It will `now be seen that there is still no com- Y 'municationto the interior of the' magazine,

for the bottom of the cylinder acts asa continuation of the top of themagazine and plugs up the opening in it. Any person may now enter theinner cylinder, and turning the top M will inclose him in, as seen at ab, Fig. 3. This done, the cylinders are pressed down or lowered, and thecap M being once. more turned around, as before, to make the twoopenings come together, the party inclosed in it can enter the magazineand return with powder, ascend, and leave, as before described. A

' What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is 4 1. Attaching to and combining with the known magazine, (having itsejection and injection pipes for ooding and continuing a circnlation ofcold water through it,) and the govverning-cocks connected together, aconnecting-piece to be affected by heat without necessarily coming incontact-with fire, this conc meeting-piece being governed by a springwhen not caused to operate, and being capable by the action of heat totlood the maga-` zine, the whole being arranged or constructedsubstantially as herein more fully described.

2. Attaching'` and combining with the magaf zine a double tube orequivalent arrangement by which articles may be conveyed into or fromthe magazine without in any way exposing the interior of the magazine totire from Without, by which several arrangements a perfect security iseected against tiring the magazines of vessels of war, all of which isfully described herein.

CHAS. W. COPELAND. *we

Witnesses: 'l

J. L. KINGsLEY,. f M9.. i' THOMAS ATKINSON. ,g

I f i ".f

